A review by itsambarnotamber
Claire DeWitt and the City of the Dead by Sara Gran

4.0

Philosophy meets mystery book. Every description of New Orleans, every character description, every conversation brought me deeper and deeper into this story. It was almost as if I was there. Claire isn't always likable or sane to be honest (she did A LOT of drugs in this book, some of it included embalming fluid) but she gets the job done. Even until the end I had no idea what happened to the victim or who did it. She is a phenomenal story teller and kept me on my toes from beginning to end. Every person is equally bad and good, no one is perfect in this book but she is able to still build a mystery around the shady and imperfect lives of others. They mention there being no happy endings in this book over and over and that is true for this story, even when they solve the crime. No one truly wins and no one is truly happy. They find their truth and their answers and they move on to the next part of their lives, except now that truth weighs even heavier on them. I'm sure I'll find more little tidbits to sit and ponder about the more I think about this book within the upcoming days. This is the kind of book that stays with you for a long time.